How Small Businesses Are Using Pinterest (part one)

March 16th, 2012

I know, yet another social media platform to learn and maintain. But before you throw in the towel, let’s talk about why Pinterest can be valuable for your small business.

Pinterest is an online bulletin board, where users can “pin” photos they find on the web. They can post their various photos to individualized boards, and can follow other users and comment on their images as well.

This site has exploded over the past year, and even though it’s still in its infancy, it already has over 10 million users. It has become the 3rd most popular social networking site, second to Twitter and Facebook.

Some entrepreneurs already understand the power of Pinterest and are using this site to leverage more website visits and sales.

What can Pinterest do for you?

1. Learn what your customers want

The best way to sell a product is to create one your consumers are looking for. Create a board that allows your followers to post things that they would like your company to offer. From there, you can get a better idea as to how to provide the best products to your community, because your consumers are telling you exactly what they want instead of you having to guess.

2. Network with other business owners

As an entrepreneur, you can create boards where you pin ideas of other business owners that agree with your interests. The text box under the photo is there for a reason – you can use it to brand your business and type keywords that move your photos to the top of the Pinterest search page.

3. Display pictures of your products

You can post pictures of your products, and add a hyperlink that directs consumers back to your website, blog or online shop when they click on your image which will increase your web traffic.

Next week I’ll share some more ideas to help you get started on Pinterest. Until then, happy Friday and happy pinning!

Five Reasons Google+ May Not Work For You

March 9th, 2012

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about all the cool things you can do with Google+ and how it will help your small business. The dark side of the moon is this: there are cons to the all mighty Google. Yes, even perfection can come at a price. So whether you work for a huge conglomerate or have alternative workplace strategies – we want to cover all sides of the spectrum so you can see some of the downsides of using Google+ below…

DIFFICULT ADMINISTRATION

Because the business pages have to be created from a personal Google+ account, you can’t add admins to help manage the page. For smaller companies that only have one or two employees, this won’t be an issue. But a bigger company who has several employees designated as the business page managers will need to have access to personal account information that you may not want to just hand out.

FACEBOOK AND TWITTER DOMINATE

In a world where everyone has a Facebook and Twitter account, Google+ seems to be the last to jump on board. Most entrepreneurs feel that since they already have an engaged network of followers on these two social platforms, Google+ isn’t worth their time, even referred to as a “ghost town.”

GOOGLE+ DOESN’T INTEGRATE WITH SOCIAL DASHBOARDS

Hootsuite does, but that’s it. Most other dashboard services won’t let you post to Google+ from their platforms yet. This is a hindrance if your company manages all of your social media from one outlet.

UNRELIABLE SIDE PROJECTS

Buzz, Wave and Hotpot have all come and gone without creating many waves in the social media world. Business owners are doubting the relevance of Google+ considering the past behavior of the previous three projects. They feel their efforts are better spent on Facebook and Twitter which we know aren’t going away.

SMALL GROWTH

It’s been hard to get people on board, since businesses can only add other businesses to their Circles. Adding individuals isn’t possible until they’ve added your business first. Since growing your network is difficult, people are hesitating to jump on the bandwagon. Hence, the ghost town.

So there you have it; the good, the bad and the ugly. What do you think about those reasons? Is it enough to turn you off of Google+, or have you found them not to be that much of a drawback? We would love to hear your comments!

 

 

Prioritizing Your Data As A Small Business Owner

March 9th, 2012

If your startup is in its infancy, you are probably juggling all of the balls at once. How do you know what to parse out in order to streamline your decision-making? If you put a priority on the three numbers below, you’re off to a good start.

Entrepreneurs who just launch a startup are faced with the challenges of filling all business roles personally, until their business grows and they can bring on employees. With such limited time, you need to make sure you are focusing on collecting the proper data that will help you make the most informed decisions when it comes to growing your business.

If you pay attention to any metrics, make sure it’s these three:

1. Pipeline coverage

Your sales prospects make up your pipeline. What you can do is forecast the sales amount and estimate the likelihood of closing the deal for each account. This is information you should update regularly.

Entrepreneur clarifies this formula: “Sales pipeline coverage is a fraction. The total amount in your pipeline is the numerator, and the sales goal is the denominator. So sales pipeline coverage measures everything in the sales pipeline against the sales goal. As the business matures, you’ll get better at estimating closure rates, and you’ll be able to tie closure rates to milestones. If you’ve only had one meeting with a particular customer, you might assign that deal a 20% chance of closing. Once the customer has agreed to pricing, you might bump that up to 50%.

In practice, you want your pipeline coverage to be over 2.5x. That should virtually assure you make your target, as long as you’ve got a reasonably competent sales effort and have done a good job qualifying your customers.”

2. Employee sales

This is a simple metric that works across the board for a variety of different businesses. Entrepreneurs are notoriously ambitious and tend to overshoot their sales numbers. To prevent your company from expanding too quickly without a foundation, use the following formula:

Gross Sales Number (divided by) Number Of Employees

Sidenote: this number will show you the value of hiring salespeople over other personnel first

3. Customer payback period

Do you know how much it costs you to acquire a customer? This formula will show if what you’re doing is making sense for your business. Obviously, the cheaper you can acquire customers, the better.

There is no real way to measure this cost initially without making an educated guess. Once you have that estimate, the question you want to ask is: how many months will it take to recover that cost?

The reason you need to pay attention to this metric is because it shows you how much money you will need to grow and how profitable you are likely to become. So, on your existing capital, how many more customers can you afford to acquire? It’s all about being able to support your growth. Growth costs more capital than failure does, so the length of your customer payback period is a good indication of your growth potential.

Knowing these numbers will help you not only from a startup growth perspective, but also if you plan on seeking investors in the future. Who of you already has a system down that lets you keep track of this data?

 

How To Maximize Your South By Southwest Experience (part 2)

February 24th, 2012

South by Southwest will be here in a few short weeks. If you are planning on using this festival (and I used the term “festival” lightly, since we are talking about the interactive session – SXSWi) as your startup launchpad, then you need to be prepared.

No pressure, but this isn’t the place where you want to “work out the kinks”. This is where you need to be on top of your game. Last week, my post was the first part of the best ways you can prepare for this time. Let’s cover a couple more items, shall we?

BE HELPFUL
The best way to leave a lasting impression is to be useful to conference goers. People always remember and value those who help them when they need it. Example? One year, startup founders of GroupME rented a space outside the convention center and set up a food truck with grilled cheeses and beer. This addressed two core needs of humans: hunger and thirst. Not to mention ease of accessibility. As a bonus, the area became a gathering spot for attendees to relax in between sessions.

In Austin, you can set up shop anywhere in town (it’s not illegal). There is a lot of foot traffic during this festival so it’s a great way to target the masses.

DON’T SLEEP
Plan on forgoing your standard 8 hours this week. This is the time to really push yourself. If everyone on your team gives 110% in representing your company, you will manifest serious results.

CEO of Chaotic Moon (a mobile app development company in Austin) Ben Lamm agrees: “Go to every event, every keynote, take every meeting. When you go, go all in. Our Chaotic Moon typical conference day goes from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. the next morning. When everyone is sleeping in, we’re at meetings. We want it more, so we work harder.”

Who has been to SXSWi before? Do you have any other tips for first timers? Leave us a comment – we’d love to hear about your experience!

Google+ For Your Small Business

February 24th, 2012

Google+ is the new kid on the block in the social media world. But even though its numbers aren’t as staggering as Facebook or Twitter, entrepreneurs aren’t hesitating to integrate this tool into their marketing plans.

The appeal of Google+ lies in its capacity for branding small businesses. If you are a startup or home-based business owner, have you harnessed the full capacity of circles, hangouts and plus one?

HANGOUTS

A specific Google+ term referring to video chat. You can talk with up to 9 people at once, which is a great tool for telecommuters who rely on workplaces on demand.

Here are a few ideas for hangouts:

  • Customer Engagement Tool – host a casual chat with current and potential clients
  • Host Q&A sessions for feedback on how to provide better customer service
  • Host meetings with employees in different locations

BUSINESS BRAND PAGE

Think in terms of customer engagement and interaction. Here is where you want to provide value to your customers. Try to create a page where you can have face-to-face interaction with your visitors:

  • Write blog posts and enable comments
  • Add pictures
  • Add people to your circles
  • Have people recommend you with the +1 (Google’s version of the Like button)

Google+ also helps your business because it boosts your SEO page ranking with the +1 feature. If you set up a business page on Google+, that page will pull up when someone does an internet search for that particular brand.

CONNECT WITH OTHER ENTREPRENEURS

Successful businesses are all about relationships, right? You can use Google+ to find like-minded business owners easily because of how Google has set up their Circles feature. You can browse for people via industry, brand or name.

What’s the best way to engage? Comment on relevant posts. Go to business events and then post and tag photos of colleagues from said events. Read articles that people post, and click the +1 so they know you are reading their content. The more you engage, the more others will return the favor and visit your page and read your content.

2012 is predicted to be a fast-growing year for Google+, as it develops into the go-to social media platform for small business. Don’t be one of the last to jump on the bandwagon.

How many of you are already using Google+? How does it differ from Twitter and Facebook for your network?

3 Free Ways to Increase Your Sales

February 17th, 2012

As we barrel through February, I’m sure many of you are still wondering what happened to January. Have you started the year with a solid plan for increasing sales for your small business? Don’t worry if January slipped by. It’s not too late – you can still throw a few things into your game plan.

Below are three no-cost methods you can use to motivate your team and help increase sales:

CHANGE UP STAFF MEETINGS

On demand workplaces are a great place to hold staff meetings, but do the meetings have the same itinerary week after week? Try shaking things up a bit. Bringing a fresh element to a stale routine can wake up everyone’s creativity. Maybe try alternating meeting leaders – let your sales team take the lead. Or have a “best idea” contest for the month and give away a gift certificate for the best brainstorming ideas.

UPDATE YOUR ACCOUNT LIST

Prepare a list of each sales person’s top 10 accounts in order from greatest to smallest. That will give each team member a clear idea of where most of their time is being spent (in terms of phone calls, following up, etc.) and may shed some light on new areas where they should be devoting more of their time.

CREATE A MONTHLY SALES REPORT

Your salesmen need data to:

  • Plan their year
  • Forecast sales
  • Find new ways to increase account revenues

Why not help them out? You have an opportunity to deliver data in a creative way that can help drive your employees to sell more. Create flow charts, make some graphs, add pictures…have fun with it. Having new information delivered on a regular basis will encourage your team since they can watch their numbers climb each month. Plus, it will give them more detailed information about seasonal patterns.

Also, keep in mind that one of the most important things you can do with your team is say thank you. Show gratitude and appreciation to your employees – a valued employee is a loyal and hard working employee.

What tips do you have for free ways to boost sales? We’d love to hear your thoughts –please leave us a comment!

How To Maximize Your South By Southwest Experience (part 1)

February 17th, 2012

SXSW is a break out hot spot for entrepreneurs and startups. Twitter launched here in 2006. Two years ago, Foursquare was introduced. It’s a veritable playground for the next big thing. Will you be there in a few weeks? As an entrepreneur, are you prepared for an event that can have a staggering impact on your small business?

The best way to enter any battle is to practice, practice, practice.

PREPARE YOUR PITCH.

SXSW is not for amateurs – this is where the best of the best come prepared and willing to fight for the number one spot. You have to be on top of your game if you want to make any kind of impression here. You may meet your next investor at the SXSWi Startup Village – a new area where special events for startups will be consolidated.

Advice from veterans? Spend at least a few weeks practicing your pitch. There are dozens of connections to make at SXSW, from investors to clients to press exposure. This could be one of your most powerful networking events all year. Make sure you have a pitch that leaves a lasting impression.

GET NOTICED.

Throw a killer party. Attend a panel. Pass out promos. Anything to get people talking about your company. You can check SXSocial to see who is coming and reach out to contacts personally for one on one meetings.

Here’s a good idea for a party: In the next few weeks, use social media to find out what the SWSX community likes: favorite cocktails, best place for breakfast tacos, where they buy clothes, etc. From there, you can shape a party around the preferences of the community and begin dialogue now between attendees and leaders.

More tips coming next week!

Telework Week 2012

February 10th, 2012

Telework Week is coming up soon (March 5-9) and will be the second annual endeavor to motivate federal agencies and individuals to implement alternative workplace solutions with their companies. Like last year, most participators will be using this week to develop a business continuity plan that allows for fluid workplaces on demand. Part of the process is practicing drills and back up plans so that employees know what to do in the case of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Think in terms of the catastrophic snowstorms in 2011 that left thousands without power and snow-covered city streets. In situations like this, a teleworker set up with the proper mobile tools would still be able to continue with work.

Stats from last year:

  • 40,000 pledges (86% came from federal agencies)
  • Workers saved $2.7 million in commuting costs
  • Workers saved average 2 hours from commutes for each teleworked day

The results from this year’s Telework Week won’t be available until May, but Telework Exchange’s general manager Cindy Auten is curious to see how the results will compare. According to her, the major challenge that most agencies face with transitioning to telework is measuring returns on investment.

“Capturing the data is really important and not just necessarily whose teleworking and the frequency but also how telework is coming back to meet the agency mission,” Auten said. “Agencies have to quantify the savings, and developing that telework ROI model is going to be very critical.”

Are you planning on attending Telework Week? Click here for more information and to register.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How The White House Uses Social Media

February 10th, 2012

The White House is all over social media – did you know? Before President Obama was even elected, he was already an avid social media proponent. He brought that passion with him to the White House and now their entire social media platform is one that is followed by millions of Americans.

In a Q&A with Macon Phillips, the White House’s director of New Media, he tells us how the Obama administration participates in social media to engage the public:

How do you engage with the public differently on Twitter vs. Facebook?
Just after the president gave his speech on the nation’s state of the union, we held a series of Twitter Q&A sessions with more than 30 senior administration officials. We were able to do that because Twitter is a much more conversational medium. Facebook, rather, is a better place for sharing rich content. We see that people regularly share our “photos of the day” and videos on Facebook.

What is the strategy behind your use of YouTube?
We’ve put together a series called “West Wing Week,” which offers an update on the President’s weekly activities such as when he travels and meets with foreign dignitaries, business groups, veterans or staffers. In addition, we have another video series called “The White House White Board,” where we look in depth at an issue like tax policy.

What is the White House’s most popular content to socialize?
We worked with the White House Photography Office early on to set up our President on Flickr. As a result, people can go to Whitehouse.gov and sign up to get a photo of the day, which will hit their inboxes every morning.

The President recently made headlines after his Google+ hangout attracted thousands of questions. What did you learn from the experience?
The hangout session is something we are planning to do more of, but it doesn’t always have to involve the President to be meaningful. In fact, we held a hang out right after that for Startup America with Gene Sperling, the director of the National Economic Council; Steve Case, the chairman of Startup America and Aneesh Chopra, the White House’s chief technology officer. They were able to have a face-to-face conversation with business owners around the country about what they’re doing on the frontlines and how the Obama administration can be as responsive as possible to their needs.

What are the top social strategies you’ve learned that entrepreneurs can also use to grow their businesses and following?
Go out early and often. When it comes to social media, we do have goals in mind. But we don’t sit around for weeks cobbling together an iron-clad plan before we act. We go out there, listen, get feedback, iterate on that and try to improve. It’s as important to listen as it is to speak.

Timing is vital. One the most significant campaigns we ran on Twitter was the #40dollars hashtag, which helped crystallize how people viewed extending the payroll-tax cut. It’s about being aware of what’s going on and understanding that in the age of social media, you’re just a participant. It’s not something that you can control.

As an entrepreneur, are any of these tips relevant to your small business? Do you sit around planning for weeks or do you just get out there and listen and get feedback? Leave us a comment below and tell us what you think!

Mandate Calls For Equal Treatment of Teleworkers

February 3rd, 2012

As the federal government is encountering daily pressure to push their agencies toward teleworking, the issue of equal treatment of employees is being called into question as implementation processes begin. How can you possibly treat a teleworker the same way you do someone who works in the office? In response, the Merit Systems Protection Board issued a teleworking mandate several months ago that will hold federal agencies more accountable.

This mandate comes after the board conducted extensive research to determine the added benefits of teleworking; benefits that pretty much everyone in the workplace on demand world already knows: it improves work-life balance, increases job satisfaction, reduces real estate costs, and attracts and retains top talent for the industry.

The GSA (General Services Administration) has taken initiative with this mandate by being the first agency to institute the following goals: “Make every GSA employee, with few exceptions, eligible for telework; explicitly define some of the ways in which we work, such as hot desking, the workspace sharing arrangements known as hoteling and desk sharing; and most important, empower our entire workforce to be mobile for the 21st century.” (source )

This is a great first step and has encouraged other agencies to follow suit. Despite this new trend however, supervisors still express concern over employee productivity and accessibility. They worry that without micromanagement, employee output will decrease.

Pro-telework arguments say that with proper office space and equipment, employees will have the same output and be fully engaged IF managers have the same expectations for their teleworkers as they do their nonteleworkers.

A survey of 20,000 federal employee teleworkers revealed that 82% felt their lives had improved since becoming mobile – they can boast a healthy work-life balance and are capable of working through emergencies. From a recruitement standpoint, supervisors admit that telework enables them to attract better candidates and retain employees.

Having a successful telework integration plan requires trust and being open to how the work culture in America is changing. This mandate has hopefully pushed forward the concept of equal treatment to all agency employees – and that includes giving similar assignments and having the same standard of expectations.What do you think? Have you noticed a difference in treatment for teleworkers since this mandate was issued? Let us know your thoughts below!

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